At first glance this story seems a bit out of place. Perhaps some background of the events leading up to this text would be helpful. Paul and Barnabas along with the other disciples had gathered in Antioch to encourage and strengthen one another prior to continuing their journeys. Prior to Paul's departure, he and Barnabas had a sharp disagreement over who should continue on the journey. Barnabas wanted to take John, also known as Mark, with them, but Paul did not think it wise, because John had deserted them in Pamphylis and had not continued with them in the work. When the dust settled, Barnabas took Mark and sailed for Cyprus; Paul chose Silas and they traveled through Syria and Cilicia. Upon arriving in Lystra, Paul heard from the other believers of a young disciple named Timothy. Timothy's mother was a Jewess and a believer, but Timothy's father was a Greek. Timothy's spiritual reputation had spread among the other believers, so much so, that Paul wanted to take Timothy along on the journey to Macedonia. Prior to their departure, Paul circumcised Timothy, because Paul felt that the Jews in the region would receive Timothy better if he followed the Jewish custom.
This act on Paul's part is somewhat odd, since in Acts 15:1-4 Paul along with Barnabas had argued with the men from Judea that circumcision according to the custom taught by Moses was not necessary for salvation. It was not necessary because one did not have to revert to Judaism to receive God's gift of salvation. Belief in Jesus Christ and grace through his love for us became sufficient evidence for conversion. Why Paul insisted on maintaining this ritual for Timothy is not made clear in this text. Yet at the heart of Paul's actions there remained this lingering question regarding Paul's mission to take the gospel of Jesus Christ to new Jewish believers.
While clearly rooted in his own Jewish tradition, Paul is clear that salvation is freely available to the Gentiles as well, without the requirements of the Jewish ritual of circumcision. It is unfortunate that sometimes we allow man-made traditions to separate us from the love of Christ. Denominations, doctrinal disputes, theological interpretations and misinformation with malice all serve to bring about division in the Body of Christ. While cultural differences are a significant factor, we still have a long way to go as Christian believers toward breaking down barriers to inclusive worship, fellowship and ministries.
Our story continues with Paul receiving a vision that he should travel to Macedonia. Several different dynamics occur at this point in our text. The writer, Luke, suddenly shifts to the first person plural and without warning a series of "we" passages begins at 16:10. There are 97 such passages recorded in Acts 16:10-17; 20:5-15; 21:2-18 and 27:1--28:16.
Several theories have been suggested in an attempt to clarify the "we" passages. Some suggest that Luke was a traveling companion of Paul. Others suggest that he incorporated the accounts of Paul's travels from another source and simply uses "we" to reflect that incorporation. Still others suggest that "we" was a literary device used to account for the difference in time from the actual occurrence of the events to their retelling as a part of the community's history. I would suggest that the "we" passages bring us all a little closer to the story.
What is the real story taking place here? This story is about a cultural breakthrough that occurs when Paul takes the extraordinary steps of taking the gospel to the Gentile Roman colony called Philippi. In Philippi there were no synagogues, so the Jews usually gathered by the riverside to pray. On the sabbath, Paul and his companions met several women there and talked with them: talk about a cultural breakthrough. Remember Jesus and the woman at the well? For a Jewish man to talk with a woman in public was against the custom of that day. Not only that, Lydia, that woman he talked with, was a rich woman.
Another breakthrough considering Luke's warning to the rich as recorded in Luke 18:25. "Indeed, it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for someone who is rich to enter the kingdom of God." This encounter led to the conversion of Lydia. The scripture makes it plain that her conversion is due to God's preparation for her to receive Paul's message. It's always a humbling experience when we look back and see the hand of God at work in our lives. Sometimes, small unrelated events are God's stepping stones to major transformations in our lives. There is a contemporary gospel song that says, "He's preparing me for something I cannot handle right now."
When God's spirit prepares us, barriers of tradition, habit, ritual, and selfish agendas come crumbling down. "The Lord opened her heart to listen eagerly to what was said by Paul" (16:14b). This encounter with Lydia also represents a cultural breakthrough because Paul and Silas are demonstrating Luke's continued theme of liberating the lowly, the lost and the lame. Women in the Bible and in society today to some extent still have to fight to claim their rightful place in ministry. Though women were the first evangelists and though women are successfully giving leadership to ministries with outstanding results, the traditional place of women in our society still prevents some of us from receiving women in ministry, industry, business, and politics as equals.
It's time for a cultural breakthrough. Lydia's response to her encounter with Paul marked not only her freedom but a new freedom for people of mixed classes, cultures, and race. At a time in our society when racism, sexism, ageism, racial prejudice, violence, AIDS, cancer, TB, infant mortality, incest, rape, abortion and crime, cross racial, ethnic and class boundaries, the message of Christ's salvation to all regardless of status is hope in the midst of despair. The interaction of classes in the context of the Roman world was significant, because of the strict limitations and expectations based on social status. Paul's encounter with Lydia and the other women led to an openness that resulted in genuine hospitality. Lydia's conversion led to her responding through hospitality. Radical hospitality does occur when the liberating power of Jesus Christ touches our lives.
How can we address the issues of racism, sexism, ageism, racial prejudice, violence, AIDS, cancer, TB, infant mortality, incest, rape, abortion and crime until we allow the barriers of separation to fall? Paul writing in Galatians 3:28 says it best: "There is no longer Jew or Greek, there is no longer slave or free, there is no longer male or female; for all of you are one in Christ Jesus." What happens when we open our hearts to God? We receive the love of Christ that results in conviction, confrontation, conversion, and compassion. Conviction acknowledges our past failures; confrontation places us in line to deal with these failures and seek new direction. Conversion is our response in turning Godward, and that results in compassion and hospitality. What a breakthrough!
Dr. L. McNeil Dowdy, pastor of Genesis United Methodist Church in Louisville, Kentucky, shared the following story. This wonderful story illustrates what can happen when we allow ourselves to experience a major breakthrough in our lives. Without Jesus in our lives, we cannot experience new attitudes, new outlooks and new opportunities. "We arrived at my mother-in-law's house late last night so I decided to stay there and go on to my mother's home in the morning. In the morning, I went on to my mother's house and when I got there, she was not home. I do not have a key. So I went about looking in all the places the country folk keep keys hidden. I was unsuccessful in finding a key. I know there was one somewhere because we always keep a key outside. But there was no key in the usual places.
"After thinking where my mother might be, how soon she would return, how cold it was outside, I decided to look for alternative ways to enter the house. With this thought I began to look at the windows. We have 16 windows in our house; 12 of them were unlocked. 'Why are the doors locked if the windows are unlocked?' Now my problem became which of the screens could I get up. (Let me say this also: we have storm windows on our home and they were up also, in the dead of winter.)
"I found a screen and window that allowed me to enter the house. Guess where it was? On the front of the house going into my mother's flower room and work area. So, here I am in front of my mother's house, climbing through the window trying to weave my way through flowers without damaging them.
"Finally, I got in the house: my home that I grew up in.
"You would think then it was over, right? Wrong!
"Once I got in the house and started out, I discovered that my mother had put deadbolt locks which require a key to enter and exit. So to say the least, now I was locked in the house. All my clothes were still in the car. So now the problem became how to get out to get my clothes. I looked around and found a screwdriver and took the lock off. Then I was able to get my clothes and relax at home. What a morning! I had to break into and out of my mother's house.
"I began to think about my adventure in relation to the kingdom of God. We seek entry into God's kingdom but everyone can't just walk in. One can't break into God's kingdom. We can't find an alternative route into the kingdom of God. If God leaves a window open, we can't just climb through and join the party. But to enter God's kingdom we must have the key. And that key is Jesus Christ."
Jesus is the key to the kingdom of God. John 10:9-10 records: I am the gate. Whoever enters by me will be saved, and will come in and go out and find pasture. The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy. I came that they may have life, and have it abundantly.
Pastor Dowdy's story stuck with me because it illustrated several keys that can lead to breakthroughs for us. First, Pastor Dowdy had a desire to get into a place of safety, warmth, and hospitality. Isn't that a basic need of us all? Second, though faced with some barriers, he continued to search for ways to achieve the breakthrough he sought. Third, though he found himself locked in he didn't resign himself to failure but found a way to achieve his goal. The community of Christ desperately needs cultural breakthroughs that can model to society God's ultimate plan of redemption for all humankind. The breaking down of traditions, old habits, fear, prejudices, and barriers must begin at the household of faith with you and me. During this Easter season we can find in the story of Christ's mission several opportunities for us to look beyond old traditions and create bridges to form new partnerships in Christ.